Finally, an update! Hi FanFiction readers/writers. Thanks for clicking on my story. If you have been reading along you may have noticed that I deleted the previous chapter 5. I decided it wasn't quite what I wanted it to be. This one isn't too rushed. Please give me any feedback; it's always appreciated. Thanks.

I spent the next week of my life trying to hide my flaws, namely the growing scar on my arm, underneath a constant flow of long-sleeved shirts. Luckily for me, and I thanked God for it, the weather was finally getting colder and I didn't receive any questioning looks from my fellow Castle Rock residents.

I made an effort to go about my days as nonchalantly as possible, with a "business as usual" attitude. I attended my regular classes on a daily basis, walked home alone, ate dinner, did my homework, took a shower, and went to bed, all with the notion in mind of avoiding the Cobras to the best of my ability and keeping my secret from my dad. It could be fairly difficult, given the fact that the Cobras were all in their 20s, hanging around Castle Rock like bums without being enrolled in college or finding work. A few times already they had attempted to catch me walking out of the school building when fourth period ended, but I saw them before I even made it down the front hall and made a quick run for it out the back entrance. They'd sit there smoking their cigarettes on the hoods of their cars, acting all tough and cool, and scare the younger kids from the elementary school away. I was shocked no teachers had even tried to get them to scatter. Maybe they were too afraid.

With each passing day I came to feel more and more sickened with my choice to "join" the Cobras. I imagined how my father would react if he found out about my membership, and I knew that the time was bound to come. Inevitably, he would look at my arm and find the scar so neatly carved with the word "Cobra". Spring would arrive and I'd be sitting on the couch watching Wagon Train, self-consciously holding my hand over my arm. My dad would walk in and see my weather-inappropriate long-sleeved t-shirt and say with a laugh, "Doug, what are you wearing? You're crazy. It's 70 degrees outside. You must be boiling." And then I'd nervously chuckle and tighten my grip on my shirt and he'd walk over and ask why I was acting so weird and I would move away and eventually he'd lift my sleeve and see the scar and he'd widen his eyes and I'd stutter and…

Either he'd find out like that or the town rumors would catch up to him first, spreading around like a virus and eventually hitting my dad square in the face.

I almost resorted to make-up.

One morning in early winter I told my dad I was headed to the grocery store to get us some milk and eggs, standard textbook items. He thanked me and handed me a five dollar bill. Like always he said, "That'll be plenty. Get yourself something with the extra. My treat." I smiled and tucked the money away, knowing he'd expect me to return with a stick of PEZ or a pack of gum. But this time, I had a different idea in mind.

Yes, it was the embarrassment of my life. A guy can't just walk into a convenience store, head for the feminine aisle, pick up a pack of skin-colored make-up and proceed to checkout as if this was normal routine. I prepared a backstory as I walked the streets towards downtown.

"What are you buying this for, kid?"

"You see, I'm a part of the school's theatre company and I gotta wear this make-up on stage so I don't look like a ghost."

But that seemed too ridiculous; I knew full well I wasn't acting material.

"My cousin's visiting from out of town. She's got major acne problems, y'know, she's very self-conscious and too embarrassed to go outside. So my mom's making me buy this for her."

It wasn't perfect, but it was much more believable.

So with my backstory in mind I rounded the corner of Fisher onto Main and was met with the no less than unpleasant sight of the Cobras pummeling a kid from the Junior High out of his wits. They were standing directly in front of the Castle Rock cinema, holding up a line of impatient moviegoers and it sure was getting violent. Billy had the poor kid by the neck as Ace threateningly paced around him, probably scaring the actual shit out of him.

I did my best to back away quietly, unnoticed, but Eyeball saw and caught up to me before I could and dragged me directly into the center of the fight. Placing me in front of the Junior Highschooler, he grabbed my left sleeve and ripped it off without a second thought, perfectly exposing the pink and delicate skin underneath, the Immortal Reminder.

I winced as all the townspeople who had been waiting so impatiently stared at my scar. The world was suddenly silent.

"See this?" Eyeball jerked me around so my arm was directly in the kid's face. "This is a very important symbol. That snake there, that's meant to be an obvious warning. It's menacing, vicious, just like we are. If you ever see anyone with this tattoo on your arm, you should know to watch your ass." He whipped me back around to finalize his point. I wondered if Eyeball was aware how ridiculous he sounded, but nevertheless, he was right. About any of the Cobras besides me. I was far from menacing.

The crowd finally dispersed and the innocent kid who had so happened to rub shoulders with Ace (causing the interrogation) was set free with an amazing record of zero marks or bruises left on his body. Even he knew it as he walked off, heaving a sigh of relief and wiping a glob of sweat from his forehead.

I looked down at the torn sleeve Eyeball had left on the ground and became instantly and overwhelmingly aware of what I was now going to have to face. The whole of Castle Rock now knew the secret I had been trying to keep. I was a Cobra and it seemed that I was going to face the rest of my Oregonian days being even more shunned than I already had been.

I rubbed my temples, picked up the sleeve off the ground halfheartedly, and slowly started the walk back towards my street without caring about my dad seeing me in my state. He was going to find out the next day anyway. There was no avoiding that.

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that, as I tossed the gravel up and watched the dusty clouds subside, I didn't even realize the four boys off in the distance, just standing there. Standing and staring at me.